1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to face shields, and more particularly to a thin flexible transparent plastic shield for protecting the eyes, nose and mouth of the user from hair spray and aerosol dispensed chemicals.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Cosmetic preparations, particularly hair sprays are dispensed from aerosol containers. Many of chemicals and aerosol discharging agents are harmful, irritating, and/or uncomfortable to the skin, eyes, and respiratory system of the user. Face shields have been developed to protect the user while applying sprays. However, most have not been widely accepted because they are expensive, inconvenient to use, or do not provide adequate protection or visibility. There are several patents which disclose face shields of various construction.
Kurianski, U.S. Pat. Des. No. 225,910 discloses a generally rectangular concave facial shield.
Dobey, U.S. Pat, No. 1,319,273, and Campbell, U.S. Pat. No. 3,038,470 each disclose a facial masks with bendable wire frames which cover the nose and mouth of the user and support a gauze fabric or tissue.
Bergstrom, U.S. Pat. No. 1,492,196 discloses a powder shield composed of a wire frame on which a shield sheet can be mounted and a handle for supporting the frame. The wire frame has concave curve at the top to conform to the neck of the user and shoulder shielding portions on opposite sides of the curved portion. The shield is held against the neck to prevent face powder from coming into contact with the clothes of the user.
Alosi et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,772,707 discloses a facial hair spray shield having a plastic sheet connected to a resilient handle. Squeezing the handle flexes the sheet against the sides of the face of the user.
Runberg, U.S. Pat. No. 3,963,034 discloses a make-up guard in the form of a flat sheet which may be wrapped around an aerosol container and has score lines which cause the sheet to assume a paddle-like configuration when the handle edges are squeezed together.
Cole, U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,861 discloses a molded cup-shaped, paddle-like facial spray guard of rigid material which has a mirror attached to the concave side of the guard.
The present invention is distinguished over the prior art in general, and these patents in particular by a face shield for protecting a person's face from hair spray and the like having a sheet of thin flexible transparent material of planar generally quadrilateral shape which is of sufficient dimension to cover the face of a user and an elongate narrow rectangular support handle which is secured vertically to the sheet intermediate the side edges thereof and extends a distance above and below the bottom edge of the sheet. The handle is of sufficient rigidity to strengthen the sheet in a vertical plane to prevent it from bending about a horizontal axis. The sheet is sufficiently thin such that it may be selectively cut by a scissors or similar implement to substantially fit and provide adequate protection for various facial shapes and sizes and to provide a top edge to closely conform to the shape of the hair line of the user. Holding the lower portion of the handle, the sheet is placed in front of the face with the handle positioned over the nose such that the person over which the shield is placed has an unobstructed view of the hair.